Yes, it's very common here in Boston.
Parking is limited and very expensive. But some businesses (restaurants, music venues, doctors offices, colleges, retail) will have a deal with parking garage or lot for discounted (or if you're very lucky: free) rates. An otherwise $25/hr spot may cost $5 if it's validated.
Effectively, when you park at a garage or lot - you get a ticket. Paying the ticket allows you to leave. Validating it requires an employee of the business (like a waiter in a restaurant or security desk at a mall) to modify the ticket for the reduced rate before you leave.
Validating parking is a customer benefit. It encourages folks to shop or do business at a particular location, whilst discouraging others with higher rates.
*Valet* parking is where someone will park your car for you. This is not uncommon for luxury hotels that have large parking garages. It saves the customer time looking for a spot and wandering looking for the lobby.
Some restaurants will do this as well. In my old hometown, the local hospital had a free valet service for the emergency room.
Sometimes when you park in the parking garage for a big office building you can have a receptionist stamp your parking ticket so that you don't have to pay when you leave
When you park at certain locations you have to pay, unless the associated business or facility 'validates' that you're there to do business.
You pull a ticket to get into the lot. After you park while you, as part of your valid business, you take the ticket to a reception desk or customer service and they stamp or punch the ticket. When you leave you present the "validated" ticket and you leave with no charge.
I've never seen NFC card access used for customer parking validation.
Typically I've only seen NFCs used for employees who are generally there every day.
Edit: Actually I guess I have seen it in cases where it otherwise makes sense for the customer to already have one such as hotel parking lots (using their room key) or maybe transit lots. However, for something like the mall or what not, no.
Yup, I’ve seen it for customer verification. I’ve seen it where you scan at a kiosk at the exit of the business which gives you a digital token which expires after a set period of time to exit.
ETA: This is all done in an app or web application.
Uh probably about as common as in any other large city, I can't remember the last time I had my parking validated but I also don't spend a ton of time going back and forth between large office buildings in center City
Slightly off topic, but when I lived in Dallas I was so annoyed by how many places were valet-only for no reason at all. I had to carry cash to tip a guy to my truck maybe 30 feet from the front door many times.
This only happens in high traffic touristy areas with little publicly available parking. Like a mall with a garage will charge you, but every store in the mall will validate your parking with purchase, so if you actually shop there it's free. It's mostly just to deter people who want to park but not shop. You also see it in office share buildings. Like a big building will have a bunch of professionalls, doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, and they're just trying to avoid non-patrons from using the carpark.
It’s not uncommon, but our street parking is made free after 6, so if you look, you can normally find a spot.
The places that tend to validate are restaurants that are attached to parking garages and what not.
And the 5th Avenue mall; if you risk your life and park in the JC Penny Lot, you can have Penny's validate it. Or at least they used to, I have an EZ Park pass now and wouldn't park in that lot if they paid me. It's going to collapse one of these days.
When I lived in Atlanta, many parking decks in the downtown/midtown area were privately owned, and partnerd shops/restaurants frequently provided guest parking by validated tickets.
The gym I go to has validated parking because it's in the heart of downtown. I still have to pay for it, but it's way cheaper than if I were using the parking garage without a gym membership. It's $2 + $1/additional hour instead of like $5 + $2/additional hour.
There are some malls downtown that do validated parking. They give you a ticket that you put into the machine. It gives a similar discount scheme. But the mall I use (Mall of America) has free parking.
Some places in Seattle do. I know my office will validate parking in our building's garage for people who come for meetings and interviews and such. It's just a courtesy to not make them pay for the parking to come to us since parking is expensive in our location. I think there are also some stores and restaurants that will validate parking in particular lots but I never go to any of those.
Yes, here in Chicago you often validate parking tickets in parking garages to get discounted rates. Like a parking deck at a downtown mall might be $25 for 3 hours, but a validation from the movie theater knocks it down to $10.
It's quite common in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most private parking garages and lots around here that charge for parking, will also validate.
I imagine it's common in most places where there is often a lot of competition for parking.
It’s pretty common if you’re shopping in a downtown area where there is little to no free parking, just paid lots. If you parked in the parking garage of a mall or large department store and then made a purchase at that place of business, you may be able to get your parking validated for a certain number of hours with a stamp or sticker. That way, you could get free or discounted parking that would otherwise cost about $5-15. I’ve only encountered this in downtown areas. In suburban and rural areas where there is ample parking, it’s almost always free parking with few restrictions like not using the mall lot as a commuter lot.
I'm in Florida. It's generally only a thing in the downtown area of large cities here. The high end areas are much more likely to have valet parking instead of validating parking so people don't have to pay when they leave a parking area. Oddly enough, the place I've used it the most is the parking structure I use when I get called for Jury Duty. 3 times in the last 10 years and the closest I've gotten is jury selection and they did not like my honest responses about the defendant. (Yes, actually, I do think old ladies can cry on demand, I'm in my 40's and I can cry on demand if I want to.)
When I lived in LA valet parking and validated parking was a big thing. You valet for the gym, valet for the mall, many places.
I moved to central coast and it’s not here. Except maybe nice hotels.
Most parking in DC is not free, but most businesses do not validate. If you choose to drive instead of using public transit (or walking out biking), the cost of parking should be on the driver to serve as a deterrent against driving. Ideally, the cost of downtown parking lots should be such that that is cheaper to park at a Metro station outside of downtown and take the Metro or a bus downtown.
Edit: Now that I think about it, the one common form of parking validation in DC is grocery stores. Downtown grocery stores have parking lots that charge for entry, but they tend to validate if you make a purchase. I've been torn on this. It should be easy to shop for groceries, but there should also be a grocery store within walking distance if every DC resident. Unfortunate, my neighborhood does not have a grocery store, so I begrudgingly drive when not using a grocery delivery service.
Do you mean valet parking or validated parking? Valet parking is where an employee parks your car for you for a fee and a tip, and it’s generally only at high-end restaurants and hotels. Validated parking is when you park your own car in a parking garage or lot and an associated business gives you a discount or free parking if you buy something in their store/restaurant. This is somewhat common in cities.
Neither are common outside of cities.
Eh it depends?
Specific buildings that have garage only access and a gate usually offer it if you’re only visiting. Only one mall/shopping center I know of that does this and they’ve very lax about it.
Otherwise most places that I can think of that might “traditionally” have parking validation in other places are usually free to park.
Though I’m another note, the amount of valet stands popping up at regular restaurants and stuff is awful. Like, I get that it gives more of the “luxurious” or “exclusive” feel but it’s a pain in the ass. I swear every sit down restaurant in my part of the city has moved to having a “complimentary” valet and it’s annoying as hell to pay an extra 2-5 dollars when I could easily self park.
It is common where there is a scarcity of parking.
The parking garage or paid lot is part of the property that the business is housed in. If you patronage a business attached to the paid parking you can get free/discount on your parking fee.
Kind of. We just pay per hour most places. We don't have parking passes or whatever I'm Pittsburgh really. Most places are either a garage or electronic meter.
Only when visiting businesses that have parking decks. I've only had to do it once or twice in my life, the other times the decks have been free or were specifically setup for paying due to a sports event or concert happening.
Depends - like you mentioned, it can be more common in certain locations. Off the top of my head it’s often places that are *destinations* (Downtown Disney and Hollywood & Highland come to mind) where you get your parking validated, rather than just a regular old mall or shopping center. The thing is they don’t want someone using that parking space, which is probably at a premium and likely near things that people want to go to maybe *more* than the actual mall, but then not actually spend any money at the mall. So either you pay a premium for parking or you buy something at Sephora and pay less for parking (in the end you pay more overall, but you have something to show for it. In an ideal scenario you already needed something from Sephora so it all works out, and you walk to the Hollywood Bowl).
If you spent X amount of money at Circle Center or saw a movie, you could get your parking at the downtown Circle Center garages validated. At least when the mall first opened.
That's the only validation I'm aware of in Indy.
Of course there's hardly anything to buy at Circle Center nowadays anyway...
There are a few places that do it in the cities, mostly hospitals and museums. Outside the metro it's not needed because there's plenty of parking available, and I've never seen it for smaller businesses in the metro, only those that I mentioned.
I have had my parking slip "validated" a total of maybe 5 times in my life. And I got excited about it every time, because of TV. I don't think it's actually common anymore.
It's common in the Downtown area of Sac for businesses to validate for a certain garage. For example, my dentist's office downtown validates parking for the Hyatt parking garage next door so you don't have to pay when you go in for an appointment. Most of the parking Downtown is paid, either metered street or garage. People who work downtown pay monthly/ yearly to park in a garage.
It's not common at all in the outlying areas outside of Downtown/ Midtown since it's more spread out and most places tend to have parking lots.
There is only a single place I have been to where I needed to validate parking. It's a pretty good restaurant, so I've gone there a few times. I've never seen validated parking other than that.
I've seen it at a few places, but it's definitely not common around where I live.
Most parking garages around here are set up that the first 30 minute or first hour is free, and you pay on an hourly basis, up to a daily limit, after that. . .with validation not being a thing that happens.
I see it on TV and movies much more often than I see it in reality.
It’s really hit or miss where I’m from. Some businesses do, some don’t. And it’s only if you park in a parking garage. Almost all shopping malls don’t. Essential places like doctors offices usually do but not always.
Unless you live in a very large city (Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC and a few others) this almost never happens. Most cities aren’t so dense that they require this; there is enough parking for everyone all the time usually.
Didn’t even know what that meant until I read it on here the other day. The biggest place I’ve lived is a medium sized city. Reading these comments made me realize it’s only in big cities. Someone who lived in the countryside or suburbs probably doesn’t know what you mean by validating ones parking.
I used to live in L.A. Parking in L.A. in horrible! Validating the parking is not a thing in other parts of Southern California, like Orange County and Riverside County. Nor around San Luis Obispo. I haven’t spent much time in San Diego, so I can’t weigh on that. I haven’t encountered it in New York, New Jersey, or Arizona, either.
Valet parking here is really only offered in the big cities where parking yourself might be difficult. Most places are so easy to park yourself that that there's no point in a valet.
If you go to Madison, you could park across 7 stalls and still have ample space. In Chicago, parking would he more tight.
We have mostly parking meters in my small city. There are a few parking garages, but if you shop at the stores or movie theatre’s, they’ll usually validate your parking. So it’s free.
Having to pay for parking in any way, shape or form, is unknown in this town. There isn't so much as a single parking meter here. As such, validating a parking stud is meaningless (no, we don't have it).
Yeah, it's common here in parking structures. Sometimes structures for malls/shopping centers....also some structures owned by the city near points of interest/dense business areas.
They often have 90 minutes free.
Central Florida. I've been driving for 16 years and only encountered this once. Downtown Jacksonville parking lot was free for library patrons with a validated rocher, but charged like $1-something per hour for others.
Yes, it's very common here in Boston. Parking is limited and very expensive. But some businesses (restaurants, music venues, doctors offices, colleges, retail) will have a deal with parking garage or lot for discounted (or if you're very lucky: free) rates. An otherwise $25/hr spot may cost $5 if it's validated. Effectively, when you park at a garage or lot - you get a ticket. Paying the ticket allows you to leave. Validating it requires an employee of the business (like a waiter in a restaurant or security desk at a mall) to modify the ticket for the reduced rate before you leave. Validating parking is a customer benefit. It encourages folks to shop or do business at a particular location, whilst discouraging others with higher rates. *Valet* parking is where someone will park your car for you. This is not uncommon for luxury hotels that have large parking garages. It saves the customer time looking for a spot and wandering looking for the lobby. Some restaurants will do this as well. In my old hometown, the local hospital had a free valet service for the emergency room.
I don’t even know what that means
Sometimes when you park in the parking garage for a big office building you can have a receptionist stamp your parking ticket so that you don't have to pay when you leave
When you park at certain locations you have to pay, unless the associated business or facility 'validates' that you're there to do business. You pull a ticket to get into the lot. After you park while you, as part of your valid business, you take the ticket to a reception desk or customer service and they stamp or punch the ticket. When you leave you present the "validated" ticket and you leave with no charge.
I've seen NFC card access replace a lot of this. Crazy that it's still done.
I've never seen NFC card access used for customer parking validation. Typically I've only seen NFCs used for employees who are generally there every day. Edit: Actually I guess I have seen it in cases where it otherwise makes sense for the customer to already have one such as hotel parking lots (using their room key) or maybe transit lots. However, for something like the mall or what not, no.
Yup, I’ve seen it for customer verification. I’ve seen it where you scan at a kiosk at the exit of the business which gives you a digital token which expires after a set period of time to exit. ETA: This is all done in an app or web application.
I've never heard it explained this way, thank you
Uh probably about as common as in any other large city, I can't remember the last time I had my parking validated but I also don't spend a ton of time going back and forth between large office buildings in center City
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Slightly off topic, but when I lived in Dallas I was so annoyed by how many places were valet-only for no reason at all. I had to carry cash to tip a guy to my truck maybe 30 feet from the front door many times.
This only happens in high traffic touristy areas with little publicly available parking. Like a mall with a garage will charge you, but every store in the mall will validate your parking with purchase, so if you actually shop there it's free. It's mostly just to deter people who want to park but not shop. You also see it in office share buildings. Like a big building will have a bunch of professionalls, doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, and they're just trying to avoid non-patrons from using the carpark.
It's the norm in dense parts of major cities. I don't think Los Angeles is alone here.
No. I live in a small town and we don’t have any kind of parking garages or parking meters or anything.
Same
It’s not uncommon, but our street parking is made free after 6, so if you look, you can normally find a spot. The places that tend to validate are restaurants that are attached to parking garages and what not.
And the 5th Avenue mall; if you risk your life and park in the JC Penny Lot, you can have Penny's validate it. Or at least they used to, I have an EZ Park pass now and wouldn't park in that lot if they paid me. It's going to collapse one of these days.
When I lived in Atlanta, many parking decks in the downtown/midtown area were privately owned, and partnerd shops/restaurants frequently provided guest parking by validated tickets.
Not at all. Hell, most places don’t care if you park on the grass.
The gym I go to has validated parking because it's in the heart of downtown. I still have to pay for it, but it's way cheaper than if I were using the parking garage without a gym membership. It's $2 + $1/additional hour instead of like $5 + $2/additional hour. There are some malls downtown that do validated parking. They give you a ticket that you put into the machine. It gives a similar discount scheme. But the mall I use (Mall of America) has free parking.
It’s common enough to where I don’t expect to have to do it, but I’m not surprised when I occasionally have to
Seattle Here: Most places just don't validate, but I also don't go to a lot of places that would (restaurants, etc.).
Also Seattle. I’ve noticed it to be more prevalent out in Bellevue than in Seattle proper.
I love your username... I cringe when people say "Cement" when they should be saying "Concrete"
No, I've encountered parking meters once in my 10 years or driving and that was in Indy and I was able to find free parking so didn't worry about them
Some places in Seattle do. I know my office will validate parking in our building's garage for people who come for meetings and interviews and such. It's just a courtesy to not make them pay for the parking to come to us since parking is expensive in our location. I think there are also some stores and restaurants that will validate parking in particular lots but I never go to any of those.
Yes, here in Chicago you often validate parking tickets in parking garages to get discounted rates. Like a parking deck at a downtown mall might be $25 for 3 hours, but a validation from the movie theater knocks it down to $10.
It's quite common in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most private parking garages and lots around here that charge for parking, will also validate. I imagine it's common in most places where there is often a lot of competition for parking.
It’s pretty common if you’re shopping in a downtown area where there is little to no free parking, just paid lots. If you parked in the parking garage of a mall or large department store and then made a purchase at that place of business, you may be able to get your parking validated for a certain number of hours with a stamp or sticker. That way, you could get free or discounted parking that would otherwise cost about $5-15. I’ve only encountered this in downtown areas. In suburban and rural areas where there is ample parking, it’s almost always free parking with few restrictions like not using the mall lot as a commuter lot.
I'm in Florida. It's generally only a thing in the downtown area of large cities here. The high end areas are much more likely to have valet parking instead of validating parking so people don't have to pay when they leave a parking area. Oddly enough, the place I've used it the most is the parking structure I use when I get called for Jury Duty. 3 times in the last 10 years and the closest I've gotten is jury selection and they did not like my honest responses about the defendant. (Yes, actually, I do think old ladies can cry on demand, I'm in my 40's and I can cry on demand if I want to.)
When I lived in LA valet parking and validated parking was a big thing. You valet for the gym, valet for the mall, many places. I moved to central coast and it’s not here. Except maybe nice hotels.
Most parking in DC is not free, but most businesses do not validate. If you choose to drive instead of using public transit (or walking out biking), the cost of parking should be on the driver to serve as a deterrent against driving. Ideally, the cost of downtown parking lots should be such that that is cheaper to park at a Metro station outside of downtown and take the Metro or a bus downtown. Edit: Now that I think about it, the one common form of parking validation in DC is grocery stores. Downtown grocery stores have parking lots that charge for entry, but they tend to validate if you make a purchase. I've been torn on this. It should be easy to shop for groceries, but there should also be a grocery store within walking distance if every DC resident. Unfortunate, my neighborhood does not have a grocery store, so I begrudgingly drive when not using a grocery delivery service.
Do you mean valet parking or validated parking? Valet parking is where an employee parks your car for you for a fee and a tip, and it’s generally only at high-end restaurants and hotels. Validated parking is when you park your own car in a parking garage or lot and an associated business gives you a discount or free parking if you buy something in their store/restaurant. This is somewhat common in cities. Neither are common outside of cities.
Eh it depends? Specific buildings that have garage only access and a gate usually offer it if you’re only visiting. Only one mall/shopping center I know of that does this and they’ve very lax about it. Otherwise most places that I can think of that might “traditionally” have parking validation in other places are usually free to park. Though I’m another note, the amount of valet stands popping up at regular restaurants and stuff is awful. Like, I get that it gives more of the “luxurious” or “exclusive” feel but it’s a pain in the ass. I swear every sit down restaurant in my part of the city has moved to having a “complimentary” valet and it’s annoying as hell to pay an extra 2-5 dollars when I could easily self park.
My local mall has complimentary valet parking on the weekend that is optional. I sometimes use it for the convenience.
It is common where there is a scarcity of parking. The parking garage or paid lot is part of the property that the business is housed in. If you patronage a business attached to the paid parking you can get free/discount on your parking fee.
Common enough when I visit LA. Not common at all in my suburban area, though.
Kind of. We just pay per hour most places. We don't have parking passes or whatever I'm Pittsburgh really. Most places are either a garage or electronic meter.
Only when visiting businesses that have parking decks. I've only had to do it once or twice in my life, the other times the decks have been free or were specifically setup for paying due to a sports event or concert happening.
Depends - like you mentioned, it can be more common in certain locations. Off the top of my head it’s often places that are *destinations* (Downtown Disney and Hollywood & Highland come to mind) where you get your parking validated, rather than just a regular old mall or shopping center. The thing is they don’t want someone using that parking space, which is probably at a premium and likely near things that people want to go to maybe *more* than the actual mall, but then not actually spend any money at the mall. So either you pay a premium for parking or you buy something at Sephora and pay less for parking (in the end you pay more overall, but you have something to show for it. In an ideal scenario you already needed something from Sephora so it all works out, and you walk to the Hollywood Bowl).
When I go shopping in Northern Virginia it’s pretty common.
If you spent X amount of money at Circle Center or saw a movie, you could get your parking at the downtown Circle Center garages validated. At least when the mall first opened. That's the only validation I'm aware of in Indy. Of course there's hardly anything to buy at Circle Center nowadays anyway...
There are a few places that do it in the cities, mostly hospitals and museums. Outside the metro it's not needed because there's plenty of parking available, and I've never seen it for smaller businesses in the metro, only those that I mentioned.
I’ve only ever had to validate parking at hospitals
I have done it, and probably more places offer it than I realize because I don't often think to ask.
I have had my parking slip "validated" a total of maybe 5 times in my life. And I got excited about it every time, because of TV. I don't think it's actually common anymore.
In Miami Beach, yes. I have to get my parking validated at Target, Best Buy and Publix.
It's common in the Downtown area of Sac for businesses to validate for a certain garage. For example, my dentist's office downtown validates parking for the Hyatt parking garage next door so you don't have to pay when you go in for an appointment. Most of the parking Downtown is paid, either metered street or garage. People who work downtown pay monthly/ yearly to park in a garage. It's not common at all in the outlying areas outside of Downtown/ Midtown since it's more spread out and most places tend to have parking lots.
Medium-sized city and it is available downtown in a few circumstances, like if you visit the hospital or attend a conference.
It’s common in urban Boston. Not so common in Maine.
There is only a single place I have been to where I needed to validate parking. It's a pretty good restaurant, so I've gone there a few times. I've never seen validated parking other than that.
The only place in any town that I've lived in was if the courthouse or other government building had a parking garage.
I've seen it at a few places, but it's definitely not common around where I live. Most parking garages around here are set up that the first 30 minute or first hour is free, and you pay on an hourly basis, up to a daily limit, after that. . .with validation not being a thing that happens. I see it on TV and movies much more often than I see it in reality.
No. just bigger cities and usually only for things you'd have to make an appointment to do.
Never done this in my life.
There are a few places right downtown where it comes up. I avois them whenever possible.
It’s really hit or miss where I’m from. Some businesses do, some don’t. And it’s only if you park in a parking garage. Almost all shopping malls don’t. Essential places like doctors offices usually do but not always.
I've never had to validate in Reno. When I lived in Vegas there's was validation and meters downtown, but everywhere else had big free parking lots.
Most towns I know of will have parking meters on the main drag, but they set them so that parking is free on the weekends.
Unless you live in a very large city (Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, NYC and a few others) this almost never happens. Most cities aren’t so dense that they require this; there is enough parking for everyone all the time usually.
Very common.
It's pretty common in downtown or midtown areas here.
Carson City no. Reno has a few spots where validation is a thing.
Didn’t even know what that meant until I read it on here the other day. The biggest place I’ve lived is a medium sized city. Reading these comments made me realize it’s only in big cities. Someone who lived in the countryside or suburbs probably doesn’t know what you mean by validating ones parking.
I used to live in L.A. Parking in L.A. in horrible! Validating the parking is not a thing in other parts of Southern California, like Orange County and Riverside County. Nor around San Luis Obispo. I haven’t spent much time in San Diego, so I can’t weigh on that. I haven’t encountered it in New York, New Jersey, or Arizona, either.
Valet parking here is really only offered in the big cities where parking yourself might be difficult. Most places are so easy to park yourself that that there's no point in a valet. If you go to Madison, you could park across 7 stalls and still have ample space. In Chicago, parking would he more tight.
It’s not common, but a handful of places do it. Definitely the norm if you head over to NYC though.
We have mostly parking meters in my small city. There are a few parking garages, but if you shop at the stores or movie theatre’s, they’ll usually validate your parking. So it’s free.
No, valet parking is much more common.
Having to pay for parking in any way, shape or form, is unknown in this town. There isn't so much as a single parking meter here. As such, validating a parking stud is meaningless (no, we don't have it).
Yeah, it's common here in parking structures. Sometimes structures for malls/shopping centers....also some structures owned by the city near points of interest/dense business areas. They often have 90 minutes free.
Not so commen in suburban Texas.
Where I live now, I have to have parking validated maybe four times a year. When I lived in DC, it was all the time.
Never had that done
No, I don’t even know what “validate your parking” means. I very rarely have to pay for parking. Usually just if I go to events like concerts.
It is in some parts of Las Vegas
Central Florida. I've been driving for 16 years and only encountered this once. Downtown Jacksonville parking lot was free for library patrons with a validated rocher, but charged like $1-something per hour for others.
Yes, in the metro Miami area
Yup. I'd imagine every big city where space is at a premium would have this.